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Radiation dose reduction in hepatic multidetector computed tomography with a novel adaptive noise reduction filter

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to optimize a novel adaptive noise reduction filter based on patient body weight and to investigate its utility for improving the image quality of low-dose hepatic computed tomography (CT) scans.

Materials and methods

The tube current-time product was changed from 140 to 180 and from 60 to 100 mAs at standard-and low-dose CT, respectively, based on the body weights of 45 patients. Unenhanced and two-phase contrast-enhanced helical scans were obtained at the standard dose during the hepatic arterial and equilibrium phases. During the equilibrium phase, we obtained low-dose scans of the liver immediately after standard-dose scans. The low-dose CT images were postprocessed with the filter. Two radiologists visually evaluated artifacts in the liver parenchyma and its graininess, the sharpness of the liver contour, tumor conspicuity, homogeneity of the enhancement of the portal vein, and overall image quality.

Results

There was no statistically significant difference between standard and filtered low-dose images with respect to artifacts in the liver, the graininess of the liver parenchyma, tumor conspicuity, homogeneity of enhancement of the portal vein, or overall image quality.

Conclusion

The adaptive noise reduction filter effectively reduced image noise. We confirmed the effectiveness of the filter by examining clinical hepatic images obtained at low-dose CT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiological Sciences, School of Health Sciences, Kumamoto University, 4-24-1 Kuhonji, Kumamoto, 862-0976, Japan

    Yoshinori Funama & Masamitchi Shimamura

  2. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

    Kazuo Awai, Yoshiharu Nakayama & Yasuyuki Yamashita

  3. Hitachi Medical Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

    Osamu Miyazaki & Taiga Goto

  4. Gate Tower Institute of Image Guided Therapy, Osaka, Japan

    Kumiko Hiraishi & Shinichi Hori

Authors
  1. Yoshinori Funama
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  2. Kazuo Awai
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  3. Osamu Miyazaki
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  4. Taiga Goto
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  5. Yoshiharu Nakayama
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  6. Masamitchi Shimamura
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  7. Kumiko Hiraishi
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  8. Shinichi Hori
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  9. Yasuyuki Yamashita
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yoshinori Funama.

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Funama, Y., Awai, K., Miyazaki, O. et al. Radiation dose reduction in hepatic multidetector computed tomography with a novel adaptive noise reduction filter. Radiat Med 26, 171–177 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-007-0202-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-007-0202-y

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